Nairobi Programme

Biography

Emelda has 20 years of Population and Public Health research experience. She has evolved the science of impact evaluation, epidemiology, population health, statistics, data analytics and operations research with a focus on research capacity mentorship in the Africa region. Emelda’s public health research expertise is inextricably linked to her commitment to supporting national policy, exemplified by her scientific role in the National Research component of various Kenya government policy groups. Emelda is deeply committed to improving routine epidemiological and demographic data from resource-poor countries to shape national health policies. Emelda is an established scientific leader leading the Population Health Unit within the Nairobi Programme, and importantly regionally, with an extensive international network of collaborators. Emelda sits on international and regional boards and steering committees, influencing agendas on public health science in Africa. Emelda is committed to her continued influence on women in science in Africa, the development of the careers of younger scientists and the appropriate balance of North-South research collaboration.

Current Work

Emelda’s work has focussed on leveraging epidemiological data to improve the understanding of disease mechanisms and strengthen programme implementation of new tools and innovations to achieve a greater impact on health in Africa. She has applied her epidemiological science to a diverse range of important public health topics that plague the African continent: malaria, HIV, RSV, health access, under-five mortality, emerging infectious pathogens and anaemia.

Collaborations

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Project Research

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Publications

Health system quality and COVID-19 vaccination: a cross-sectional analysis in 14 countries.
Arsenault, C., Lewis, T. P., Kapoor, N. R., Okiro, E. A., Leslie, H. H., Armeni, P., Jarhyan, P., Doubova, S. V., Wright, K. D., Aryal, A., Kounnavong, S., Mohan, S., Odipo, E., Lee, H. Y., Shin, J., Ayele, W., Medina-Ranilla, J., Espinoza-Pajuelo, L., Derseh Mebratie, A., García Elorrio, E., Mazzoni, A., Oh, J., SteelFisher, G. K., Tarricone, R., Kruk, M. E.
Lancet Glob Health, (2024). 12:e156-e165

The path to universal health coverage in five African and Asian countries: examining the association between insurance status and health-care use.
Odipo, E., Jarhyan, P., Nzinga, J., Prabhakaran, D., Aryal, A., Clarke-Deelder, E., Mohan, S., Mosa, M., Eshetu, M. K., Lewis, T. P., Kapoor, N. R., Kruk, M. E., Fink, G., Okiro, E. A.
Lancet Glob Health, (2024). 12:e123-e133

Population confidence in the health system in 15 countries: results from the first round of the People's Voice Survey.
Kruk, M. E., Kapoor, N. R., Lewis, T. P., Arsenault, C., Boutsikari, E. C., Breda, J., Carai, S., Croke, K., Dayalu, R., Fink, G., Garcia, P. J., Kassa, M., Mohan, S., Moshabela, M., Nzinga, J., Oh, J., Okiro, E. A., Prabhakaran, D., SteelFisher, G. K., Tarricone, R., Garcia-Elorrio, E.
Lancet Glob Health, (2024). 12:e100-e111

Health system quality and COVID-19 vaccination: a cross-sectional analysis in 14 countries.
Arsenault, C., Lewis, T. P., Kapoor, N. R., Okiro, E. A., Leslie, H. H., Armeni, P., Jarhyan, P., Doubova, S. V., Wright, K. D., Aryal, A., Kounnavong, S., Mohan, S., Odipo, E., Lee, H. Y., Shin, J., Ayele, W., Medina-Ranilla, J., Espinoza-Pajuelo, L., Derseh Mebratie, A., García Elorrio, E., Mazzoni, A., Oh, J., SteelFisher, G. K., Tarricone, R., Kruk, M. E.
Lancet Glob Health, (2024). 12:e156-e165

Spatial variation and clustering of anaemia prevalence in school-aged children in Western Kenya.
Robert, B. N., Cherono, A., Mumo, E., Mwandawiro, C., Okoyo, C., Gichuki, P. M., Blanford, J. L., Snow, R. W., Okiro, E. A.
PLoS One, (2023). 18:e0282382

Approaches to Defining Health Facility Catchment Areas in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Macharia, P. M., Odhiambo, J. N., Mumo, E., Maina, A., Giorgi, E., Okiro, E. A.
Health and Medical Geography in Africa: Methods, Applications and Development Linkages, (2023). :445-465

Measuring people's views on health system performance: Design and development of the people's voice survey.
Lewis, T. P., Kapoor, N. R., Aryal, A., Bazua-Lobato, R., Carai, S., Clarke-Deelder, E., Croke, K., Dayalu, R., Espinoza-Pajuelo, L., Fink, G., Garcia, P. J., Garcia-Elorrio, E., Getachew, T., Jarhyan, P., Kassa, M., Kim, S. A., Mazzoni, A., Medina-Ranilla, J., Mohan, S., Molla, G., Moshabela, M., Naidoo, I., Nzinga, J., Oh, J., Okiro, E. A., Prabhakaran, D., Roberti, J., SteelFisher, G., Taddele, T., Tadele, A., Wang, X., Xu, R., Leslie, H. H., Kruk, M. E.
PLoS Med, (2023). 20:e1004294

Malaria vaccine coverage estimation using age-eligible populations and service user denominators in Kenya.
Moturi, A. K., Jalang'o, R., Cherono, A., Muchiri, S. K., Snow, R. W., Okiro, E. A.
Malar J, (2023). 22:287

Investigating rapid diagnostic testing in Kenya's health system, 2018-2020: validating non-reporting in routine data using a health facility service assessment survey.
Moturi, A. K., Robert, B. N., Bahati, F., Macharia, P. M., Okiro, E. A.
BMC Health Serv Res, (2023). 23:306

Geospatial mapping of timely access to inpatient neonatal care and its relationship to neonatal mortality in Kenya.
Ouma, P. O., Malla, L., Wachira, B. W., Kiarie, H., Mumo, J., Snow, R. W., English, M., Okiro, E. A.
PLOS Glob Public Health, (2022). 2:e0000216